Emergency service members can communicate with each other using wireless communications equipment. Each member of a call group has a radio transceiver which can be used to communicate with other members of that call group on the same radio channel. Activating the push-to-talk (PTT) switch on a radio enables a user to transmit speech and thereby speak to each member on that radio channel. Alternatively, the user can listen to other members speaking on the radio channel when the PTT switch is not activated, thereby receiving any speech transmitted by other members. Hence, a member can communicate on a radio channel by transmitting speech and listening to communications transmitted by other members, as required.
Members from various emergency services including police, fire and ambulance services are often called to any given emergency operation. Each emergency service uses a different radio channel, and indeed often a different radio frequency (RF) communications protocol (e.g. FM, UHF, analog, digital, etc.), to communicate wherein, for example, fire fighters communicate on a first radio channel using a first protocol and police officers communicate on a second radio channel using a second protocol. Accordingly, in order to communicate with both groups, it is necessary to carry two radios. It will be appreciated that this makes it difficult to monitor communications from both groups and accordingly, that an improved apparatus is required.